Collocations for IELTS Writing – What Examiners Expect

What collocations really are (and what they are not)

A collocation is a natural word partnership. Words that native speakers commonly use together. These combinations are not random, and they are not creative. They are predictable, conventional, and widely accepted.

Importantly, collocations are not idioms, and they are not advanced expressions by default. In fact, most high-scoring IELTS essays rely on very ordinary collocations used accurately and consistently.

For example, native speakers naturally say make a decision, play a role, or reach a conclusion. These combinations sound normal because they are expected. When learners change them to do a decision or achieve a conclusion, the sentence immediately feels unnatural, even if the meaning is clear.

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How examiners experience collocations while reading

Examiners do not analyse collocations consciously, word by word. They read quickly and continuously. When collocations are natural, the writing flows smoothly and feels easy to process. When they are forced or incorrect, the reader slows down (even briefly) and that disruption affects how your language ability is perceived.

This is why collocation accuracy matters even when grammar mistakes are rare. A sentence can be technically correct but still sound “off” because the word partnerships are wrong.

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Why IELTS examiners care about collocations

Collocations sit at the intersection of lexical resource and grammatical accuracy, which makes them especially important in IELTS writing. Vocabulary is not judged in isolation. It is judged in context.

When examiners read your essay, they are silently asking questions such as:

• Does this sound like natural written English?
  
• Does the candidate control common academic language?
  
• Are word choices predictable in a good way?
  

Accurate collocations answer all three questions positively.

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Reliability matters more than rarity

Examiners are not looking for rare or impressive collocations. They are looking for reliable, appropriate ones. A Band 7 essay often contains many correct collocations used calmly across the response. A lower-scoring essay often contains fewer collocations, or uses them inaccurately or inconsistently.

This is why collocations are a safer and more powerful way to improve your vocabulary score than memorising advanced words. They improve overall impression, not just individual sentences.

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The difference between memorised phrases and real collocations

Many learners try to “learn collocations” by memorising long lists or template phrases. Unfortunately, this approach often causes more harm than good.

Memorised language tends to appear suddenly and unnaturally. It may not fit the sentence structure, the task type, or the overall tone of the essay. Examiners are trained to notice this kind of mismatch.

What natural collocation use looks like in real essays

Real collocation use is subtle. It appears across the essay rather than in one isolated sentence. It supports meaning instead of drawing attention to itself.

For example, an essay discussing education might naturally include phrases such as access to education, academic performance, and educational outcomes. None of these sound impressive on their own, but together they create a consistent academic tone that examiners trust.

Strong essays feel linguistically “settled”. Weak essays often feel uneven, with sudden jumps in vocabulary style.

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Common types of collocations examiners expect

Collocations appear in predictable patterns in IELTS writing. You do not need to memorise every type, but recognising the main categories helps you notice and reuse them naturally.

Verb–noun collocations

These are among the most frequent in both Task 1 and Task 2 writing. They shape how actions and processes are expressed.

Native speakers say address an issue, raise awareness, or conduct research. When these verbs are replaced with less natural ones, the writing feels awkward even if grammar is correct.

Adjective–noun collocations

These collocations allow you to describe ideas precisely without exaggeration.

Phrases such as significant increase, growing concern, or long-term impact are extremely common in high-scoring responses. They sound neutral, academic, and controlled, exactly what examiners expect.

Noun–noun collocations

Academic writing often relies on noun groups to express complex ideas efficiently.

Expressions like economic growth, social development, or government policy allow you to communicate meaning clearly without unnecessary explanation or repetition.

Rather than memorising lists, notice which word combinations appear repeatedly in examiner-approved materials and model answers.

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Collocations in Task 1 vs Task 2 writing

Although the underlying principle is the same, collocation use looks slightly different in each task.

Task 1: describing data and trends

In Task 1, collocations often describe trends, changes, and relationships between figures. Phrases such as a gradual increase, a sharp decline, or remain stable help present information clearly and objectively.

These collocations help your report sound factual rather than descriptive or emotional.

Task 2: developing ideas and arguments

In Task 2, collocations tend to express ideas, causes, effects, and consequences. You will often see phrases like play a crucial role, have a negative impact, or pose a challenge used repeatedly in strong essays.

Examiners do not expect variety for its own sake. Appropriate repetition is normal in academic writing. Using the same correct collocation twice is often better than using two weaker alternatives.

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How collocations affect your band score

Collocations do not raise your band score directly. Instead, they support the criteria examiners already use to assess writing.

Accurate collocations help demonstrate:

• Lexical resource, by showing natural word choice
  
• Accuracy, by reducing awkward or unnatural phrasing
  
• Coherence, by allowing ideas to flow smoothly
  
  

Poor collocation use, on the other hand, often leads to vague meaning, awkward sentences, and reduced confidence in the reader, all of which quietly lower your score.

This is why candidates sometimes feel their English is “good” but their writing score does not improve. The issue is rarely grammar rules or vocabulary size. It is how words behave together.

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How to improve collocations safely for IELTS

The safest way to improve collocation use is not memorisation, but controlled exposure and reuse.

Read model answers slowly and notice which word combinations appear repeatedly. When you practise writing, aim to reuse these combinations naturally in your own sentences rather than inventing new ones.

It is also important to revise errors, not just add new language. If you consistently write do research instead of conduct research, correcting that habit will improve your score more than learning ten new collocations.

Progress in collocations comes from refinement, not expansion.

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Conclusion

Collocations are one of the clearest signals IELTS examiners use to judge whether writing sounds natural and controlled. They are not about sounding advanced or impressive, but about sounding accurate and expected.

Strong IELTS writing relies on ordinary collocations used confidently, consistently, and appropriately. When you focus on how words work together (rather than how rare they are) your vocabulary score becomes more stable and predictable.

Related IELTS Vocabulary Lessons

• Paraphrasing for IELTS Writing (Without Changing Meaning)
  
• Word Choice Mistakes in IELTS Writing
  
• What Band 7 Really Means in IELTS Writing

Practice Questions

1. True or False: IELTS examiners look for rare collocations rather than common ones.
2. Multiple choice: Which phrase sounds most natural in IELTS writing?
   A) do a decision
   B) make a decision
   C) create a decision
3. Short answer: Why can memorised collocations harm an IELTS score?
4. True or False: Using the same correct collocation more than once is acceptable.
5. Short answer: Name one way collocations support coherence in writing.
   

Answers

1. False
2. B
3. Because they often sound unnatural or mismatched to context
4. True
5. They help ideas flow smoothly and reduce awkward phrasing